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Inglewood City Council approves NFL stadium plan

By Will Osgood

Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke on the sidelines prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke on the sidelines prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Inglewood City Council unanimously approved a measure to build an NFL stadium on Tuesday night.

The market for a potential team in Los Angeles just grew in demand. Less than a week after the Raiders and Chargers announced a proposal for a “joint stadium”, the Inglewood City Council went a step further, approving an 80,000 seat stadium to be built where Hollywood Park used to reside.

The approved stadium would be home to a new version of the Los Angeles Rams, a venture headed by current Rams CEO Stan Kroenke, who earned most of his wealth in the Los Angeles market.

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Kroenke has long been attempting to push through a stadium in the Los Angeles area, but has not been alone. Stockbridge Capital is included among the group that will head the project. Still, the Inglewood City Council had to approve the measure, which it did unanimously, 5-0.

With many passionate Inglewood residents in attendance, many of whom were willing to say their part in favor of the measure, the council passed the most meaningful measure to date in an attempt to bring the NFL back to the nation’s second largest market.

No team can officially relocate to Los Angeles, though, without a three-quarters approval of all current NFL owners (24) required. No franchise, the Rams included, have yet filed for relocation to the league office, making this all still preliminary work.

But the process seems to be gaining steam. With three franchises now in the running to make Los Angeles home, it seems only a matter of time. The Inglewood stadium would begin construction in December, meaning relocation could not occur until the 2016 season at the earliest.

Economically, the Hollywood Park site stadium is estimated to gross the local area $18 million extra per year, mostly the result of a 10 percent sales tax on all tickets sold to events at the new stadium.

The new stadium is predicted to include a retractable roof, in order that it can better host concerts and potentially a basketball Final Four, as well as putting it into position to host games for the new College Football Playoffs.

It will also include a large performing arts center, parks, retail and office space and approximately 2,500 houses. Excitement in the Inglewood area is intense and appears most ready to move, though opponents of the proposal have a 30-day window to appeal the agreement.

The Rams, meanwhile, still have St. Louis as a suitor. The city is working on a stadium proposal on the Mississippi River, which would cost only $900 million, chump change compared to the expected $1.86 billion the Inglewood stadium is expected to cost to build.

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